The unit is loaded with electronics ranging from 1-GHz ARM Cortex A8 to 800-MHz video DSP (TMS320DMC64X) and MEMS sensors to deliver precise control and automatic stabilization. The AR Drone also is equipped with an QVGA camera for ground speed measurement and safe landing.

In July, Parrot acquired SenseFly, a Switzerland-based drone company, allowing the French company to enter the ultra-light flying drone market for professional applications like mapping.

Meanwhile, Parrot also has developed a wireless headset featuring Bluetooth connectivity, active noise cancellation and near-field communications for Bluetooth pairing. Jawbone sensors allow the headset to be used for wireless conversations.

The wireless speakers housed in a daring design (left) are set up to offer immersive sound. The speakers leverage an elaborate system of DSP processing and amplifiers. A 200-MHz DSP provides digital filtering and feeds into a pair of amplifiers dedicated to each driver.

Parrot’s ASIC used in its car telephony system include an ARM A9 core with ARM’s DSP functions and a hardwired audio processing block designed for the audio front end. The audio front end is three times bigger than the ARM-based block. Why ASICs? Seydoux responded: “To do good acoustic in a car demands a lot of processing power and specific filtering. You need an ASIC.”

Parrot is now targeting markets beyond the phone and drones.
Last year, it acquired DiBcom, a French mobile TV chip company. Designing a system that works well with a smartphone is a priority for Parrot’s in-car system, but the company is willing to add features to regular handsets, including mobile TV, said Yannick Levy, a former DiBcom CEO and now executive vice president of Parrot’s digital tuner business unit.

Its Octopus chip, a programmable digital TV front-end solution initially developed by DiBcom, is making its way inside Daimlers and BMWs, said Yannick.

Begun, the drone wars have. I saw something amazing in the local paper recently. Not obviously amazing, but it was.
The photo was of some celebration in a city center plaza type place. The photo showed the small reflection lake and crowds milling around. In the center of the photo, near the top, you could see a quad copter with a camera hovering above it all.
The quad copter isn't the amazing part. What I find amazing is that there was no mention of it anywhere in the article. It was just there and nobody noticed or nobody cared. It wasn't news.

True. Parrot's hardware is amazing, the software seems very intuitive, but what truly shocking to me when I was visiting the company, was a sudden realization that this may change our world view.
The CEO was showing me a world map on the web, to which Parrot's drone users from all over the world have already uploaded their own video -- shot by their drone -- at any given time of the day. You click the dots on the map, and you see what's going on in a beach in Africa or a city in China.
Now how easy it has gotten to see what's going on everywhere in the world.
You can see a recent complilation of the best video clips uploaded by Parrot users here.
http://youtu.be/I6QFSLsaKw8

Your website link could not open in China. What a pity!!!!
I am interested in personal drone very much.
I want to know how to upload the video.
If you could help me, please send email to me at lisanshi433@yahoo.com.cn.
Thanks in advance.